Premiere: Meat Wave Make Daily Struggles Punk Again in ‘Cosmic Zoo’

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Don’t judge a book by a cover, and certainly don’t judge a band by their name. Meat Wave may not sit comfortably in your mind (unless you love steak as much as Ron Swanson), but they will rest happily in your eardrums.

The Chicago-based punk trio write digestible, melodic, incredibly intense rock songs that recall the best of Cloud Nothings, Shellac, and Pile. Though they only have one full-length to their name–Meat Wave–and another on the way–Delusion Moon–later this month, the three dudes sound like they’ve been mastering the art of kicking butt.

Live, their talent speaks for them. They’re bursting with unparalleled energy, the kind that reminds you what a live band should sound like, which scored them upcoming slots at Riot Fest Chicago in September, The Fest in October, and Iceland Airwaves in November.

“Cosmic Zoo” uses its three-minute timestamp to convince you of that. Listen as Ryan Wizniak loses his mind on drums, running away while Joe Gac holds it down on bass and Chris Sutter’s sharp, memorable vocals lure you in with a mischievous look in his eyes. In the song’s video, all three members let us look at a day in their life through interesting means. Watch as they work some dough magic, run through practice, and explore the streets of the windy city — a compelling video that’s as telling as it is engrossing. By the time the video ends, you may or may not be kicking yourself for not listening to Meat Wave earlier.

“A lot of music videos are very disenchanting because they’re so phony,” explains Sutter. “Andrew [Morrison, director] followed us around for three days and filmed us working, rehearsing, and hanging with friends and people we love. This video is so special to me because Andrew made something really beautiful out of all of that and it’s real as hell.”

Check it out below and let the magic happen (aka falling in love). Be sure to pre-order a copy of Delusion Moon before it drops September 18th via Side One Dummy! Then you can hug that record and know someplace, somewhere, everyone at Nerdist is doing the same thing — while simultaneously rocking out, too.